PHEROMONES, SOCIAL-BEHAVIOR AND THE FUNCTIONS OF SECONDARY METABOLISM IN BACTERIA

The functions of secondary metabolites in bacteria are generally not known, although it is to be assumed that their production in nature must be of some benefit to the producer organism. Most microbial secondary metabolites may perhaps best be viewed as pheromones. Their production may thus represent a form of microbial social behaviour. Because cells that are close to each other spatially are normally closely related genetically, a simple application of Hamilton's rule may be used to account for the benefits that such secondary metabolite production afford the producer.